


There are some things you cannot escape

by Onthewayyyy



Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Darth Vader is shit your pants scary, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Not sure what I'm doing or where I'm going with this, Repressed Memories, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onthewayyyy/pseuds/Onthewayyyy
Summary: After destroying the holocron, Cal and the crew of the Mantis fly aimlessly through space, awaiting their next adventure. Little do they know, the previous one wasn't quite done with them. With the full force of the Empire chasing after them, and the curiosity of one of the most dangerous Sith Lords in history, can they pull through? Add Cal's confusing feelings for a certain Nightsister, and it seems as if they've gotten more than they've bargained for.
Relationships: BD-1 & Cal Kestis, Cal Kestis & Greez Dritus, Cal Kestis/Merrin, Cere Junda & Cal Kestis
Comments: 24
Kudos: 139





	1. Space Song

**Author's Note:**

> Finished Fallen Order a few days ago, and honestly couldn't help myself. I'm treating this as my own little version of a DLC for the game, just extra story afterwards. I hope you enjoy.

_"It will take a while, to make you smile, somewhere in these eyes, I'm on your side."_

* * *

Cal was bored, there was just no way around it. They had been travelling throughout the Outer Rim for _ages_ now, not finding much to do. Exploring planets and discovering their secrets was all well and good, but Cal wanted a _fight_. After his encounter with Darth Vader on _Nur_ , he was itching to train and get stronger. Cal had quite frankly, gotten his ass kicked by the Sith, only surviving because of Cere. 

Speaking of Cere, it was amazing to see her embrace the Force again. She ventured back to Ilum to obtain a new Kyber crystal, which turned green like her last sabre. She thought it was fitting, Cal had to agree. 

Greez was his normal self, gambling, constantly complaining in good fun, and growing the plants with the same old trepidation. 

They were his family as far as Cal was concerned, the three of them had been through so much together, he felt so at ease around them. 

There was only one small problem, if it could even be called that. 

Merrin. She was just, so _distracting._ In a good way, Cal thinks. He didn't fully understand it all, he never had the time for as long as he could remember. But as he recalled the way her hands felt in his, and how she had hugged him, maybe he had a _little_ bit of an idea of what was going on, but he'd never admit it out loud. Besides, she seemed so above him, so unobtainable. Not that she was something that needed to be obtained in the first place. 

Cal was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He turned to see Cere looking at him with a small smile on her face.

"What?" He asked, fighting the blush that was surely rising on his face. 

"You've been staring at her for a while now, quit it, it's creepy." She said quietly. 

Turning in confusion to look at what Cere was talking about, Cal could've died of embarrassment as he realized that he had indeed been staring at Merrin, who thankfully, was engaged in deep conversation with Greez about the seeds that had been collected from her home planet of Dathomir. 

He smiled sheepishly at Cere, whose grin only grew wider. 

"Shut it." He mumbled. 

As Cere was about to respond in kind, a loud beep caught the entire crew's attention. 

Everyone ran to the holotable to see what it was, and they were all shocked at what they saw. A distress signal, and not just a general one sent out to any ships nearby. This was specifically for the _Mantis,_ for _him_. 

"It's coming from Hoth," Cere murmured, "Who in their right mind would go there?"

"What is so bad about Hoth? I have never heard of it." Merrin asked, confusion lacing her voice. 

"It's stupidly cold, that's what." Greez spoke up, "Just thinking about it makes me shiver." He grimaced. 

"Do we know who it's from?" Cal said, finally speaking up. 

Cere looked at the monitors for a bit, swiping at the holograms appearing from the table, before shaking her head. 

"What do we do?" Merrin said. 

"Well that's obvious isn't it? We should go and help." He said. 

Both Greez and Cere shared a look at this, "Kid," Greez began. "We don't know if this is legit or not, we could be walking right into a trap."

"We need to do this! It can be a real chance to actually do some good," Cal pleaded. "Someone could be in actual danger and we might be leaving them to die if we just ignore this."

The other three stared at him, each one with different expressions. 

Greez looked at him like he was crazy, Cere seemed grudgingly proud, and Merrin had a look of admiration on her face.

It was all he could do not to blush.

"Okay," Cere said slowly. "We'll check this out." 

Cal smiled and nodded, thankful for the opportunity. Greez made to speak up but was silenced by a glare that Cere sent his way.

 _Finally._ He thought, a chance to prove himself.

* * *

"You have failed me again, my apprentice." 

Two men, if they could even be called that, were in a room together. The tension between them palpable. One was more machine that man while the hooded one was better described as a ghost or a monster than any term even slightly related to human. The hooded man was sitting on what could only be described as a throne, while the cyborg kept his head bowed as he knelt before his master, carefully deciding his next words. 

"The survival of the female Jedi was an unforeseen outcome, she is very powerful with the dark side of the Force, master." 

No words were spoken for some time, the hooded man keen on keeping the other on edge. 

Eventually, he spoke. "He must not go unchecked, that holocron is dangerous in his hands, the boy could very well start a new Jedi order." 

"He could be anywhere in the galaxy by now." The other man said.

His master exploded in anger at the words, "Do you think I care? The lowly Padawan must be found as soon as possible, it would not do well to have more Jedi running around, or did that escape your mind?" The smell of ozone filled the room as the mans hands crackled dangerously. 

"It did not, master." The masked man said, still keeping his head bowed. He did not fear the other man, but he was smart enough to know that the wrong word could very well mean his life. "Shall we set a bounty hunter loose on him and his crew?" 

"No," the hooded one said, smiling grotesquely. "I think I shall send you to finish the job, after all, it would only be fair for you to correct your mistake. You may take as many men as you see fit, leave as soon as possible." 

"It will be done, master." 

"For your sake, I do hope so." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 2020/01/02


	2. Times to Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal goes to Hoth to investigate the distress signal, a sinister plot is revealed, chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I forgot to at least make a passing mention of BD-1 in the first chapter, that was an oversight on my part. I'm not going to go and add in some parts because that would be way too complicated lol, just imagine he's somewhere cooling it on the ship. I apologize if in the last chapter and in this one it seemed as if Cal was acting out of character in wanting a fight, I take it as him being dead bored with everything these last few months in the story, as well as being so soundly beaten by Vader in the ending to the game and needing to be saved by Cere or getting lucky. He wants to become better so he can protect himself and his friends.

_"And when they took him to the temple, oh then they fed him to the devil."_

* * *

The harsh near never-ending blizzard on Hoth was almost enough to make Cal give up, _almost._ This calibre of cold was unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life, far more worse than when he was on Ilum. Thankfully, he was well bundled up for this rescue, although if you asked him it didn't feel like it was doing all that much. 

"Greez was right," Cal muttered to himself. "This place _is_ stupidly cold." 

Cal grumbled to himself some more as he got closer to his destination. 

_He's probably all comfy back on the Mantis._ Cal lamented. 

Cere looked as if she wanted to come with him, but they only had enough spare clothing for one person, she'd freeze to death out here. And Merrin, sweet Merrin, almost forced them to let her join him, but they were all vehemently against it, using their numbers advantage to shut her down. 

_"I can go with him!" Merrin exclaimed, eyes filled with worry. "If this is a trap, how are we to make it to him in this 'blizzard' as you call it?"_

_"Merrin, we all want to go with Cal to make sure he's safe," Cere began, shooting a pointed look at Greez, who immediately nodded his head in agreement at her words. "But the truth is that none of us would make it five minutes out there, and unless you know a spell to protect you from the freezing cold, you stay in the Mantis with us."_

_"I'm sorry Merrin, but Cere's right." Cal said. "If I get into trouble, you can try to teleport near me to get me out, but even that might be to dangerous."_

_She was visibly fuming at them now, "Fine." She spat out, and stomped off to her room._

_BD-1 trilled sadly as she left, everyone felt the same as him._

Cal grimaced, and this time it had nothing to do with the cold. He felt bad for shutting Merrin down like that, after all, she just wanted to help. His comms had turned off in the extreme cold so for the moment he had no way to contact his friends. When Cal got back, he'd have to apologize and make it up to her somehow. Shaking his head, he focused on the present. Cal was getting closer to his destination, and the excitement he felt before arriving on Hoth was gone now. All he felt was a strong sense of dread. It seemed as if the nearer he got to the coordinates of the distress call, the more hopeless he felt. Like all the happiness in the _universe_ had gone away. What made it worse was he now had an idea of who sent the distress signal in the first place. Cal had seen chunks of a familiar armour buried in the snow along the way, chunks from Saw Gerrera's armour. What had caused Saw to lose pieces like that? Cal could only hope that he'd make it in time. Through the almost blinding amount of snow, he saw a building. 

Instinctively, Cal was about to ask BD for the holomap, only to remember that the droid had also been left on the ship. Sighing, he took out the tracking fob that had been set to the coordinates they received. He kept it bundled in the multiple layers to make sure the same thing with the comms wouldn't happen with it, sadly he couldn't just shove his coms away, as Cal needed it on his ear just in case things went bad, the cold had other ideas apparently. Regardless, Cere was pretty proud of herself for finding the fob, and it was good that she did, as when Cal turned it on like he had been doing periodically since arriving, it had confirmed what he thought. The building was where he needed to go. 

When he arrived, Cal was almost instantaneously slammed with an intense fear, he was put into a cold sweat despite his location, and he could feel his heart rate quicken. Turning corners on pure instinct alone, when Cal reached a room further into the snowed in building, he heard it.

Mechanical breathing. Memories and feelings from months prior bombarded Cal all at once, the cold fear he felt back on _Nul._ And then, as fast as he heard it, he saw it. 

Darth Vader.

"Finally, you have arrived."

* * *

Back on the _Mantis_ , the crew was wracked with worry over Cal. 

"He hasn't been active on his comms for an hour now," Greez said, pacing back and forth. "What could be keeping him?"

It was clear that the Latero feared for the safety of the Jedi Knight. Cere was worried too, but she tried not to let it show as much.

"The comms could have been drained of their battery from the cold, Greez." She said, trying to assuage the four armed pilot. "And stop pacing like that, you're making me nervous."

"Oh _I'm_ making you nervous? Well excuse me for being worried out of my mind!" Greez retorted. 

BD-1 had hopped over to get the two's attention, but to no avail.

"Do you think that this doesn't worry me too?" Cere asked. 

"Well you seem to be- Ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed.

BD had resorted to shocking Greez in his leg to get their attention. The droid made frantic beeping noises but neither Cere nor Greez understood him. In an attempt to show them what he meant, BD hopped over to Merrin's room and kept making noises. 

"Merrin's room? You want us to go in there BD?" Cere questioned, clearly confused. 

The droid made a noise of affirmation and so they tentatively knocked on the door. 

"Merrin?" Cere called out, "Can we come in?"

No answer.

"Maybe she's asleep?" Greez suggested. 

"Merrin! Are you in there?" 

Again, no answer. 

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Cere muttered. "Merrin we're coming in."

The sight that welcomed them, was not a pleasant one. The bed was empty and stripped of its sheets. 

Merrin was gone. 

And worse yet, they heard the sound of ships landing nearby, as well as the familiar piercing scream of a TIE Fighter.

* * *

"You laid a trap for me." Cal accused. 

"Of course," came Vader's deep baritone voice. "And you fell into it spectacularly."

Cal ignited his lightsaber, it's emerald light shining brilliantly in contrast to the darkened room. 

"So quick to violence," Vader chided lightly. "Do you not remember our last encounter?"

"I remember it just fine," Cal snapped back. "Where's Saw?" 

The Sith lord walked around Cal while he answered, "I have no idea, he managed to evade us a little while back. The armour you most definitely discovered were merely parts that broke off in the fighting. However I know that by seeing them they'd lower your suspicions of any Empire presence at least marginally." Vader stopped walking right back where he started and said, "Enough of that now, where is the holocron?" 

Cal smiled, "It's been destroyed," he said, taunting his adversary. "I cut it to pieces."

He could feel the anger rolling off of Vader, his rage absolutely suffocating. 

"You lie!" The cyborg said. "You intended to use it!"

"I did," Cal acknowledged. "But I had a premonition, and I wouldn't let it come true." 

Vader ignited his own lightsaber now too, "Then the initial plan of keeping you alive is no longer necessary." 

Despite being scared out of his mind, Cal stood his ground. Although he would have never admitted it to the crew, _this_ is what he's been waiting for. A rematch. Learning from their last fight Cal waited for Vader to make the first move this time, as he had foolishly taken a swing at the Sith Lord in their first encounter. 

Before either man could make a move, the entryway that Cal entered through earlier was suddenly occupied.

"Cal!" Merrin shouted. 

She looked on the brink of collapse, shivering terribly. 

Vader swung at Cal while he was distracted, nearly connecting too. The Jedi Knight moved just in time to avoid a quick death. But the angry Sith Lord kept up the assault, overwhelming Cal immediately. Cal needed to create some separation between the two quickly, or he'd be dead in seconds. Thinking fast he made a show of lifting his arm as to feign using the Force to push Vader back, expecting this, the Sith Lord stepped back so he could properly block it, allowing Cal the space he needed to jump backwards. Straight into Merrin's arms, who then teleported them away. 

When they rematerialized, Merrin collapsed in the snow, and any anger he had at being whisked away like that was gone. Where they were now should have been where the _Mantis_ was, so why wasn't it? Cal didn't have time to truly think about this as he was nearly shot from the side, again, narrowly escaping death. What greeted him was a Stormtrooper clad in an onyx coloured armour, behind him, a TIE Fighter that he had clearly flown here. 

"I will kill you for the Empire!" He shouted. 

"Great," Cal muttered. " Just great."

* * *

Death Trooper, HS-775

Cal dodged the next shot from the trooper's blaster, he needed to end this quick, before Merrin would surely die to the severe cold. This particular Stormtrooper was tough though, being able to keep up with Cal without too much of a problem. Every time Cal would move in with a strike, the trooper would roll perfectly in time. It was maddening. Finally, Cal spotted his opening. He slowed the trooper with the Force, and moved in to end the fight, only to be shot in the shoulder. Cal stumbled back and the Death Trooper was free to move around at normal speed. Cal had unluckily slowed the man as he was about to fire, he cursed his luck and moved on. But now the trooper smartened up, not giving the Jedi any time to be on the offensive. Using the various hills of snow as cover.

Cal glanced to his side and saw a large icicle protruding from the ground and then looked at the TIE Fighter they had made their way back to during the fight, he then made up his mind on what to do next. He pulled the Death Trooper towards him, only to dodge out of the way and make his enemy smash against the object, Cal then jumped over behind the TIE Fighter and put all his might into Force pushing the ship straight into the trooper, crushing him. Having won the fight, Cal ran over to where Merrin still laid, and picked her up in his arms. He held her close as he tried using his comms, it had started working again soon after he had went into the building, and since Cal had only been outside for ten minutes at most, he figured it worth the chance.

The signal was garbled but it made a connection, "Cere? Greez?" He shouted. "Are you guys there? Me and Merrin are where the ship was before, where did you go?"

"C-al?" Came a staticky voice. "Amb-ushed...... on ou-r w-ay back...... be read-y." 

He prayed that they'd come soon, Cal could feel his skin crawl as the familiar sense of dread came over him once again. Vader was on his way.

Mercifully, he didn't have to wait long, the _Mantis_ materialized in the sky after coming through some clouds. When it landed he rushed in with Merrin still in his arms, he laid her down on the couch. 

"BD, give her a stim." He ordered. When it was done, Cal hung back as Cere looked over her, telling them all of what happened. 

Unbeknownst to them, Vader was following from quite a distance, still not quitting after the setback. The wrath of the Sith Lord making it's way through the galaxy itself to reach them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some liberties with the Mantis in this, I don't rightfully remember if the ship even had actual bedrooms considering it's relatively small size. Although I'd assume it would have some, for the sake of this fic, I'll just pretend that it does indeed have bedrooms, just in case. Also, I thought of many colours to make Cal's lightsaber, and while indigo was tempting (I was thinking of compassion like the Indigo Lantern Corps), the actual canon description of indigo lightsaber's (going off purple's description as indigo just a different shade of purple, really) doesn't match Cal's personality in my opinion. In the end, it was down to either yellow or green. Personally green, (along with purple) is my favourite colour in general, and although it might not fit Cal perfectly, I feel as if it was the closest fit other than blue or yellow. In the end, preference won out. 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> PS All will be explained in the next chapter on how Cere and Greez escaped those imperial ships. Didn't find a good place to put them in at the end there, and I didn't feel comfortable writing a space chase. Apologize if the little "boss fight" at the end there wasn't great, I'm still adjusting to writing fights.


	3. Call Me Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrin will not wake up, Cal tries to make sense of his feelings, the crew finds a place to settle down. Darth Vader lurks in the shadows of the galaxy, waiting for them to slip up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt the short chapter was necessary after the last one, hopefully you don't mind. Some seeds have been planted, it's quite obviously building to something, multiple somethings, in fact. Ideally, I'll be able to pull them off.
> 
> Also, I feel like I should point out that these chapters are not beta'd. Any mistakes you see are mine, and I apologize for them.

_"I look for you, and you look for me"_

* * *

Merrin wasn't waking up. It had been a few hours since their retreat on Hoth and her reckless rescue attempt. Cal wanted to be frustrated over being led right into a trap by Vader, but all that was on his mind was _her._ While Cere and Greez were in the cockpit doing Force knows what, he had been at Merrin's side in her room, having never left since coming back. 

"I'm so sorry." He murmured to her unconscious form. "This shouldn't have happened to you."

Cal reached out and grabbed her hand, BD thankfully didn't comment on it, the droid having also joined him in diligently watching over the nightsister. 

Cere had tried to comfort Cal, but to no avail, he wouldn't hear any of it. This was _his_ fault. So he sat there, waiting. And while he sat, Cal was plagued with intrusive thoughts. Back before the Purge of the Jedi Order, Cal had only heard a few stories of Jedi Master's getting into relationships, it was interesting to him then as they were forbidden.

This, is why Cal was conflicted, was he allowed to have these confusing feelings? Or should he cut himself off from them like the Jedi of old. Because he knew that he felt _something._ Granted, Cal had no experience with these kind of things, being very young when the Order fell. 

All he knew, was that he cared deeply for Merrin, emphasizing with her past and forming a bond very quickly, despite her trying to kill him on Dathomir.

And of course, _it wasn't just shared life experiences that drew him to her_ , Cal thought with a blush. She was _very_ pretty. Despite the situation, the Jedi Knight had a silly smile on his face, a spark of hope coming from within him. She _would_ wake up, and he would apologize for his rash actions. 

Before long, Cere came to see him once again. A small smile playing on her face as she saw their hands together. 

"Come to the holotable, me and Greez might have found something." She said.

Cal frantically dropped her hand, no doubt blushing even deeper, "What is it?" He asked.

"Well we're low on food so we thought it would be a good idea to find a place to settle down, gather supplies, and lay low so Merrin can recover." Cere explained. 

He nodded, and stood up to follow her out.

"Stay here buddy," he said to BD. "Come get us if she wakes up."

BD made several beeps in the affirmative.

Cal smiled at his droid companion, "Thanks buddy."

* * *

"So this place, it's off the radar?" Cal asked, for probably the millionth time.

"Yeah kid, Empire doesn't know about it at all." Greez said, rolling his eyes at the Jedi's enthusiasm. 

"I haven't lived on an actual planet since Bracca," he said. "Hopefully this turns out better than that." 

"It will," Cere said with confidence. "We'll make sure of it."

"Yeah it _could_ work, will take a lot of fixing though." Greez grumbled. 

"Everything does." Cere replied sagely. 

The Latero was tempted to make a sarcastic comment, but thought better of it. Shaking his head, Greez went back into the cockpit.

"Set course for Takodana." He called out to Cal.

* * *

As the _Mantis_ went into hyperspace to leave, a ship followed closely behind. Frustrated but not surprised, Darth Vader intended to go back to his master to inform him of the new developments. And once he was done being punished, which was no doubt the response the Emperor will have, Vader would try his hand at another trick. One more crafty and that would take more finesse.

This entire mission was proving to be more of a challenge than the Sith Lord originally thought.

How _refreshing._

An odd feeling wormed its way inside of him, the memories of the man Vader used to be, the thrill of the hunt that he once felt had returned. For better or for worse, it was here to stay. A brief flash of sadness swept through him before he dismissed it. 

Disgruntled by the unwelcome sensations, he returned back to his master, bracing himself for the inevitable pain. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are always appreciated!


	4. Don't Come Home Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the crew meets Maz, a debt is revealed. Merrin wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I had been sick for a bit over two weeks, and then I had exams for school. It's hard getting motivation to write but, here I am. Sorry it isn't a long chapter, don't think I have that in me at the moment. I do hope you can derive some enjoyment from this.

_"And who cares, where you have gone today. And who cares, well I guess they won't be telling you anyway."_

* * *

Takodana was beautiful, the emerald green forests in the area were simply breathtaking from the window of the _Mantis._ And Cal couldn't leave out the castle, it was an impressive monument on its own. Greez was allegedly good friends with the owner of the place, swearing up and down that he'd get them a place to stay. 

_"Me and Maz go waaaayyy back." He said with an easy grin. "Besides, she owes me one."_

Cal wasn't so sure about it, but he didn't really have a choice. 

Cere, bless her, elected to stay behind so she could watch over Merrin. He thanked her profusely for it. 

So it was a slightly hopeful Cal and BD, that travelled with a clearly nervous Greez that made their way to Maz's castle once they landed. 

"What's up with you?" Cal asked, noticing Greez's expression. "I thought you said there would be no problems."

"Yeah about that," he began. "I maybe sorta lied a little." 

Cal mentally facepalmed, and BD trilled angrily in response. 

"Truth is, _I'm_ the one who owes Maz. And it's a lot of money."

" _Money?_ You didn't say anything about money." Cal accused.

Greez merely smiled sheepishly in response. 

Cal _physically_ facepalmed. 

"Great." He said. "Just great."

* * *

"Greez Dritus!" 

"Ohhhhhhhh no, this was a terrible idea." Came Greez's mildly terrified voice. "Who's idea was this again?"

Cal didn't have the heart to tell the Latero that _he_ was the one who chose Takodana. 

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face here again!" The voice from before said. 

A tiny woman walked out from where a few tables were, her extremely small stature hiding herself from them. Despite the woman's size, Cal felt scared for Greez.

"H-hey Maz, w-what d'you mean?" 

Maz's large eyes narrowed, "The thirty-thousand credits you owe me, that's what I mean."

Cal nearly jumped in shock, that was a _lot_ of money for them, considering they didn't have a whole lot to begin with. 

He had to step in, "Please, whatever debts Greez owes you, I'll see to it that he pays you." Cal promised. "But right now we need a place to lay low." BD beeped in agreement.

Maz softened at the pleading tone in his voice. 

"Fine," she agreed, "But that'll cost you as well." 

Cal nodded, groaning internally. "How much?"

"Depends," Maz said. "Is it just the two of you?" 

"No, we got two more." He told her.

She t'sked, "All the rooms big enough to fit four have been taken."

"Any chance of having two rooms side by side?" He asked.

"It's possible." Maz said after a while. "I'd have to go and check."

"Alright, we'll head back to the ship to get the money and the others." 

Maz nodded in acquiescence. 

With the start of a deal, Cal and Greez headed back to the ship. 

Unbeknownst to them, they were in for quite the surprise.

* * *

Ships were sent throughout the galaxy in search of the Jedi boy, not a significant amount of course, as now that the holocron was destroyed, the need to find him was drastically lowered. Still, it was a matter of pride now. The lucky Jedi had made a fool of not just Vader, but the Empire too by extension. He was grateful that the news had not broken yet, nobody in the galaxy knew about this. Or at least, nobody of importance. 

Vader winced as he moved to leave his chamber. His master's punishment was not swift, it was long and painful.

 _The blasted suit he wore didn't help either, as if the constant pain he was already in wasn't enough,_ he scoffed. 

As he put back on the suit, he pondered his next move. What he wanted to try hadn't been done in many years as far as he knew, and it would take a lot out of him. 

But it _had_ to work, or else he'd feel the wrath of the Emperor once again. Maybe for the last time, but not in a good way.

* * *

Where was she? It was, _warm_. Which is _not_ what she last remembered feeling. Merrin's eyes opened and she shot up, taking in her surroundings she let out a sigh of relief. She was on the _Mantis_ , ideally safe and sound. 

She got out of bed, leaving the blankets behind. Merrin nearly blasted Cere with her magic when she rounded the corner, the (former ?) Jedi making no noise and giving zero indication of her being there. Cere stared at her, wide eyed. 

"You're awake." She stated. 

"Yes." Merrin replied. "Where's Cal?"

Cere, having recovered from the initial shock of Merrin waking up, now wore a knowing smirk on her face. 

"He and Greez went out to get us a place to stay." She answered. 

"Where are we?" Merrin asked. 

"We're on Takodana, Greez's idea, so it's likely to have a few problems." Cere said.

At this, Merrin had to smile. Even from the little she's known them, she knew of Greez's 'ideas'. 

"They said they'd be back soon, and that was a little while ago." Cere said, trying to act nonchalant. 

Merrin didn't notice, only registering the fact that Cal would return soon. 

_Greez and BD too,_ a traitorous part of her mind said. 

_Shut up,_ she told it. 

Was she arguing with herself? What was even going _on_? And why was she so excited about Cal's return? This had to be due to her being out of it, speaking of which.......

"How long was I knocked out for?" She asked. 

"Oh barely a day," Cere replied. "Still scared us silly." 

"Sorry." Merrin murmured. 

After all, it was her fault for going out there. 

"It's fine," Cere assured her. "Without you Cal could have died out there. By the way, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, better than before, to be sure." She replied honestly. 

Cere nodded, but before anything else could be said, Cal's voice came over the comms.

"Cere, we're back, drop the ramp!"

Merrin's heart rate picked up, and she couldn't explain it. 

The ramp dropped and in came a fearful looking Greez and a determined Cal. 

"Do we have thirty-thousand credits?" He asked immediately, not even noticing her presence.

Cere's eyes bulged, "Thirty- _thousand_? What for?" 

He jerked his thumb in Greez's general direction, "Our fearless pilot here owe's the owner of the castle, Maz, a lot of money."

"No kidding." Cere said dangerously, glaring at Greez. 

The Latero for his part, didn't run for his life. 

"In fairness, I totally thought I'd win the game."

Cere let out a sigh of frustration, "Okay, okay. We have enough to cover it, _barely."_

It was during this time that Cal noticed Merrin, he ran over to her, startling BD in the process. 

"You're awake," he said, in utter shock at her standing there. "When?" 

"Moments ago." Merrin responded, a goofy smile on her face that totally didn't belong there. 

Cal then did something that surprised everyone, he hugged her. "Thank you," he breathed in her ear, causing her to have to fight down a shiver. "For saving me, there was no way I could have gotten out of there alive without you." 

"Of course," she said immediately. "And thank you, for also saving me." 

Someone coughed from behind Cal.

He let go with amazing speed, a blush on his face. 

Members of her race couldn't blush, but Merrin no doubt looked just as flustered, minus the red. 

"Here," Cere said, clearly amused. "This should be enough for Greez's debt, and hopefully our room." 

"Rooms," Greez corrected nervously. "Side by side rooms, all the bigger ones were taken. Saves us money at least, it would've been more expensive like that anyway."

Cere grunted in assent, "You two go on and pay for it, me and Greez will fly the ship over to properly park it." Her eyes never left the Latero, who himself was looking everywhere but at Cere. "And," she began with false softness. "We can have a little _chat_ about your grand plan to get us a place to stay." 

Cal, Merrin, and BD slowly backed out of the ship in tandem, none of them wanting to stick around for the tongue lashing Greez was sure to get. 

As the ramp closed up, loud muffled voices could be heard. 

BD trilled sadly.

"I agree buddy, can't say he doesn't deserve it but, sheesh." Cal responded. 

The trio began to make the trek back to the beautiful castle, Merrin in particular being amazed at the sights even more than Cal was when he first saw the place. 

Finally they had gotten a break, a well earned one too. 

How long would it last?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few kinks in the writing, I'm sure, but that's what I get for being gone for so long. Apologies if things are worded weirdly, I don't have the heart to fix em. I'll do better next time, I promise. This chapter was meant to be light, hopefully I handled the comedic parts well. As always, let me know what you think!


	5. liberate my soul as i regain my sanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darth Vader makes sure that his presence is still felt. Cal begins in depth training with Cere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly but surely moving this plot along in a good way, I hope. Shorter chapter this time around, my motivation is currently being occupied by another fic that I'm currently writing, and my time is being taken up by school and work. Updates will come slower than usual now as I'm writing one chapter of this fic, and then one for the other. However, we are almost done here. This story was only ever meant to act as a "What If?" DLC type thing. I predict maybe three or four more chapters plus an epilogue, depending on how well I can flesh this all out. Sorry to say but, if you read the warnings then you might have theorized that this story doesn't end on a happy note. Praying that I can write it well lol. Reviews are always appreciated!

_"Get away please run and hide, burning your children alive, I will not rest 'till I see your destruction I literally want you to die."_

* * *

Life moved on; Cal and Merrin grew closer, and they spent over two weeks at Maz's castle, working there to pay for their rooms. It was mostly menial tasks, cleaning, serving food, stuff like that. Being cooped up like that didn't exactly agree with him however, Cere seemed to pick up on this too. So quite early in their stay she began teaching him all that she knew, they practiced far from prying eyes in a clearing in the forests surrounding the castle. 

_"You're training was_ _unfortunately cut short, and while you're still quite impressive for how out of practice you've been, there's still so much left to learn."_

He rubbed his back in memory, still sore from that session. Cere had knocked him on his back multiple times that day. Cal turned a corner, finally finding what he was looking for.

A room with no Maz. 

It's not that he disliked the woman, but in all honesty, she scared him. Thankfully she seemed to like him, Cal would hate to have her treat him like she does Greez. Poor guy. The Latero had been putting in the most work out of all of them. On more than one occasion he'd come back to their shared room covered in some animal's dung. The shared rooms were an interesting thing, of course the entire crew lived on the same ship, but they each had their own rooms. Having Greez as a roommate wasn't as bad as he initially thought, his friend was actually quite neat, always keeping his side of the room clean and plants watered. 

That didn't stop him from being incessantly annoying at times, telling Cal about new gambling plans and strategies, that were of course shot down by the Jedi. He could only wonder what Merrin and Cere were doing on their own time. 

Speaking of Merrin, the night sister was at the door, waiting for him. 

"Did you hear a word of what I said?" 

Startled, he quickly shook his head. "Sorry, zoned out for a bit there."

"Clearly," she said, in mock annoyance, which was somewhat ruined due to the fact that she was smiling. "Why were you here?"

"Hiding from Maz." He mumbled in response.

Cal grumbled when she laughed at his fear. 

They had decided that tonight was a perfect night for stargazing. The two of them had been going on these little trips almost immediately since arriving on Takodana, and every time they did Cal found it increasingly harder to ignore certain, feelings, rising up in him. 

Leaving BD at the castle, Cal and Merrin set out to the familiar clearing where Cere trained him. The walk was quiet, giving him ample time to think about their situation. He was sure now that he had feelings for Merrin, romantic ones. But how could he be sure that those same feelings were reciprocated? Cal didn't really have an answer for that just yet.

When they arrived they both sat on a makeshift bench that he had assembled with various rocks nearby a week ago, it was actually quite sturdy. 

The pair still remained silent as the stars shined in the black of the night. Was this normal? Was he expected to say something? More importantly, was this a date? Cere certainly thought so, if her antics earlier were anything to go by.

_"Stargazing?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him._

_He shrugged, a silly smile creeping its way on his face._

_Cere snorted at his state, "You two are adorable."_

_"What do you mean?" He asked._

_"Nothing," she replied. Winking at him, Cere said "Have fun on your date."_

_Before he could respond, she was already walking briskly to her next task, or to find Greez so they could laugh at him, either one was equally as plausible._

Well, at least Cere approved, he would have thought that she'd reprimand him and remind him about the old ways. 

"So I've been thinking," he began. 

"Oh really?" Came Merrin's response. 

He shot her a dark look and continued on, "I was thinking about recent events. And when you were hurt back on Hoth." Cal took a deep breath. "It made me realize how important you are to me."

_Oh Force was this really happening? Now or never I guess._

"I have also been thinking about the same things, Cal." She said softly. 

He caught her eyes, and he hung onto every word. The two shifted closer to each other unconsciously, shoulder to shoulder now on the small bench. 

"I think I might, that is to say, Cere thinks I may have a-" 

What Merrin was about to say, he didn't hear. She disappeared completely from view, instead, his surroundings were replaced by a dimly lit room, with some sort of see through chamber with a bright blue liquid flowing inside of it. A familiar sense of dread came over him, and it could only mean one thing. 

Once again, Cal heard him before he saw him. The mechanical breathing of Darth Vader gave the Sith Lord away immediately, and the cyborg stepped out from the shadows. 

"Welcome to my private quarters, Cal Kestis."


	6. Blood Warden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal finds out the hard way that there are some things you cannot escape.

_"This is my world. And you can't ever leave." — Freddy Krueger_

* * *

The first thing Cal noticed, was that the room he was in was unlike any other he'd ever seen. It was a sleek, all black room. At its centre, was a large capsule of some sort, containing a cyan coloured liquid. What struck him as odd (besides the obvious), was the temperature of the room, it was the same as the forest near Maz's castle. In fact, Cal could still feel the breeze. Before he could continue this line of thought however, the reason of his being here in the first place, spoke.

"I'm sure you're wondering how you got here." The cyborg said, pacing around Cal. "The answer to that, is complicated, as you've no doubt already surmised. Before we get to that however, I'd like to let you in on a little secret." Vader stepped closer to Cal, causing the Jedi to take a step back. "The purge of the Galactic Republic, and in turn, the Jedi. Was because of me." 

Cal's face widened in shock, one man had wiped out the Jedi order? How was this possible?

"Oh do not look so surprised, the Jedi were arrogant, and lived only by their precious _rules._ " The Sith Lord spat. "And where did that get them?"

Vader and Cal were now face to face when he spoke next, "I was glad to hear of Master Tapal's demise, I had a specific idea in mind for him myself, you see." 

Enough was enough, Cal's vision filled with rage as he reached out and grabbed Vader. The black clad Sith made no attempt to stop him, and it soon became clear as to why, for when Cal touched Vader, the scene shifted. No longer were they in his private quarters, they were back on Takodana, in the forest with Merrin. The nightsister in question was trying desperately to get Cal's attention, but he paid her no mind, the implications of what he had just done beginning to sink in. 

"Ah, finally." Vader sighed. "You were never off planet to begin with. I had connected us through the Force, and now finally, I know your location. The lush forests of Takodana," He said, looking around at the scenery. "Truly a beautiful place. You were a fool to oppose me on Fortress Inquisitorius, now, I will finish what I started." 

With a wave of his hand, the connection was severed. Cal barely spared Merrin a glance before sprinting back to the castle to warn the others.

The Empire had found them.

* * *

Explosions rocked the castle as Cal ran to find Cere and Greez, Merrin right on his heels as they sped through corridor after corridor. When they finally arrived, it was to empty rooms. Panic filled him, where could they be? 

"Cere went out to engage the ground forces, hold them back. That slimy Latero took to the sky to provide air support." Came the voice of Maz from behind them. "I assume they're here for you."

At Cal's hesitant nod, Maz sighed.

"Should've guessed." She lamented. "Go on, help your friends." 

"What about you?" He asked. 

"We take no responsibility, having no knowledge of any of you being wanted." 

"Just like that?" 

"It's nothing personal Cal, but it's quite literally you or me. I"m sorry." Maz told him. 

He wanted to be mad, but realistically this was the only way Maz and her people would be able to get out of this unscathed. Steeling himself, he and Merrin left to go join the fight.

Only there was no fight to be had. When the two stepped outside, there was only destruction. They were accosted by a few Stormtrooper's that they made quick work of, but what Cal saw stopped him in his tracks. The Mantis, crumpled and on fire at the waterfront near the forest. 

"Greez!" Cal shouted, sprinting in the direction of the ship. Before he could get close though, it exploded in a giant fireball. Tears welled in his eyes as he realized that his close friend was now vaporized. 

It would only get worse from there, as the duo ran into a enormous group of troopers that, without Merrin's help, Cal wasn't so sure he could take on. 

Finally, he saw it, the body of his mentor and friend. Cere Junda laid dead on the grass nearby, her body riddled with holes from blaster bolts, eyes open and hollow. Instead of feeling grief like when he saw the crashed _Mantis_ , Cal was filled with rage. This rage only amplified when he felt the presence of a man he now hated with every fibre of his being. 

"She was weak, and so are you." 

Cal spun around quickly and immediately slashed at Vader with his lightsaber. The Sith Lord was just as fast however, meeting Cal halfway, their weapons in a stalemate against each other. 

"I'm not afraid of you." Cal growled to the Sith, BD also beeped in a threatening manner. 

"Then you will die braver than most." Came the reply. 

"No, he won't be dying at all." A third voice chimed in. 

Suddenly, Vader was surrounded by a green aura as Merrin worked her magic. The night sister tossed the cyborg easily twenty feet back and crashing into a pillar of the castle. 

Before Cal could properly look at Merrin in awe, Vader was back on his feet and ready to fight again. The trio battled for what felt like ages, but was actually only a few minutes. As strong as Cal and Merrin were as a team, they were never truly a match for Vader. This was proven to be true when he was able to keep choking Merrin with the Force while still duelling Cal. Panic set in as the Jedi Knight realized that the fight was a hopeless one, revenge aside, all that mattered now was getting he and Merrin out of there.

He was given no time to think about a possible plan though, as a loud shot rang out and the Sith Lord nearly flew into him. Vader shot by Cal with terrifying speed, hitting a castle wall so hard that it caved in. Where Vader stood before was his own TIE fighter, manned by a scraped and bloody, but alive, Greez Dritus. 

"Hey guys!" He said cheerily, only for it to be marred by the sight of Cere, a friend who wasn't coming back. "We gotta get outta here," Greez said sombrely. "It's like the whole Empire is out here." 

"Probably because they are." Cal heard Merrin mutter. 

The three of them took Cere's body and stole a ship that could fit them all. 

Of course, it could never be _that_ easy.

They all collectively stumbled as the ship shook and was dragged back down to the ground despite Greez's efforts to lift off. It seemed that Vader was not quite done with them, as the Sith gave one last attempt on their lives by trying to crush the trio in the ship. Cal acted fast, and reached out with the Force to lift his enemy's lightsaber from where it was laying on the ground, and ignite it to stab the cyborg exactly where he had previously stabbed Cal with _his_ own weapon back on Fortress Inquisitorius. When Vader faltered, Greez took off into the stars, leaving Takodana behind for good.

* * *

The funeral was a depressing affair, both Cal and Greez said a few words before burying Cere on Bogano. Merrin held his hand the entire time, which he appreciated. Something had changed between the two of them, and while he didn't really know how to deal with it, whatever was happening now was good enough for him.

BD trilled sadly as they left Bogano, "I know buddy," Cal replied. "I miss her already too." 

Days went on as the crew flew aimlessly through space, nobody had a true plan. Cal sat on the couch, Merrin curled up and tucked into his side, while Greez tended to his plants and BD rolled around their stolen ship. Greez had a new collection, the ship they had taken thankfully had space for another little garden like the one back on the _Mantis._ The Latero had taken to calling their new ride, " _The Defiance"._ At first, Cal hated the name, but he eventually came around to what it stood for. 

A loud beeping caught everyone's attention. 

"Multiple ships are on us," Greez said. "Probably Empire."

"Definitely Empire." Cal stated, feeling that all too familiar chill go down his spine.

"What should we do?" Merrin asked, BD beeped worriedly too.

The Jedi Knight's features hardened in grim determination, looks like there were just some things you cannot escape.

_**Fin**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. Sorry it took so long to get this out, school, mental health, and a loss of interest in this story really hindered me. Hopefully I've ended things well, I'm not too good at writing endings. If you feel let down then I am truly sorry, but I have no motivation to continue this story. That being said, this is how things were always going to end. Cal would never be able to defeat Vader, but he'd put up a damn good fight. Thank you to everyone who stuck around and took the time to leave comments, I appreciate it more than you could ever know. The more I think about it, the more satisfied I am with the ending, I never meant for this fic to be super long (except for at the very start where I thought this would be 10 chapters long, lol). Also when Vader taunted Cal about having special plans for Tapal, he was bluffing extremely hard, him saying that was merely to provoke Cal. I do also hope that the romance between Merrin and Cal was nice and sweet. I didn't really want them to kiss or anything, but the small things I put throughout the series was sufficient enough in my eyes, especially in this chapter. Once again, thank you.


End file.
